Briarwood Playground

148 St and 85 Av

Queens

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found posted within the park.

Briarwood Playground is named for the Queens neighborhood in which it is located. Bounded by Union Turnpike, Parsons Boulevard, Hillside Avenue, and the Van Wyck Expressway, Briarwood was developed by Herbert A. O’Brien in 1905. O’Brien was the owner of the Briarwood Land Company, which got its name through the suggestion of O’Brien’s wife, Adeline, who noted the woods and briars, prickly plants or shrubs such as the round leaf greenbrier (Smilax rotundifolia), that covered the area. The enterprise was initially unsuccessful, however, and the land was not fully developed until the 1920s, when the lots formerly owned by the company were sold at auction.

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Briarwood Playground

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